


Five Times Dean Showed Cas He Loved Him, and One Time He Said the Actual Words (Like a Goddamn Adult)

by anyrei, Eyes_of_a_Tragedy, mugglerock



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (On an Unrelated Note Why Isn’t it Just Called Six?), 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Comedy, Five Plus One, Fluff, Fucking Six, Happy Birthday Ruk / RayRay, How do I love thee?, It's So Fluffy I Wanna Die!, M/M, Post-Canon, Romance, Romantic Comedy, THE FLOOFIEST FLOOF, We Already Told You That, let me count the ways, seriously, we love you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26656552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyrei/pseuds/anyrei, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyes_of_a_Tragedy/pseuds/Eyes_of_a_Tragedy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mugglerock/pseuds/mugglerock
Summary: What the title says.[If you read this anywhere but Ao3, it was posted there without the authors' permission. Please don't patronize apps when you can read it on Ao3 for free]
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 18
Kudos: 191
Collections: The Destiel Fan Survey Favs Collection





	Five Times Dean Showed Cas He Loved Him, and One Time He Said the Actual Words (Like a Goddamn Adult)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tfw_cas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfw_cas/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Ruk from all of us! We hope you’ll have a great birthday and an amazing day ahead of you. We love you so much and are very grateful you’re in our lives! 
> 
> Cheers and enjoy!

**One**

…………………….

Dean knew that he was in love with Cas. He had known for a while now. It wasn’t something that he was actively thinking of every day. His usual M.O. was avoiding those thoughts and feelings, trying to bury them in the darkest corner of his mind. But he wasn’t lying to himself. 

There was a difference between choosing not to act on feelings, and lying to oneself of having those feelings in the first place. With the life they were living, it just didn’t fit. He knew if he opened up to Cas… if his angel died… again… No, he couldn’t even think about it. 

Staying away was the safe choice. Every time he had lost Cas it had destroyed him. If he was in a different relationship with him, making himself even more vulnerable to his feelings, he knew he wouldn’t survive it.

But then the end of the world came again. Big time. And they all survived.

Not just that though; all the big bads were gone. And it put him into a position he had never been before, or even dared to think of. Something he had been pining for. Absolutely. 

But never in a million fucking years would he have thought he would live and actually have the chance at a normal life. A retirement. 

And Cas was still here. With them. Human in the end. Because his grace hadn’t survived the battle. 

Dean's last reason for not having a future with Cas evaporated like the angel's grace. Because now Cas was staying. He was getting older, and he was more approachable. 

Not that Cas hadn’t been before. Dean knew it was all in his head. But still. It made a difference.

So, one morning Dean woke up with a hard on and realized that he was fed up with waiting. He needed to man up and show Cas what he meant to him. That he wanted to be more than friends. No more bullshit brother lines.

After breakfast, he waited until Sammy went for a run before he approached Cas, who was sitting in the library, reading a book in a weird looking language. “Hey, Cas,” he greeted with his most charming smile as he leaned against the table.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas put the book on the desk and looked up at Dean, a soft, barely visible smile playing around the corner of his lips. Dean liked that smile. Especially because he imagined he was the only one who noticed it, because he had known Cas for such a long time now. 

“I wondered if you had any plans today,” Dean casually asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I do not,” Cas replied, looking curious now. 

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” Dean said with a laugh before he pushed himself away from the table. “You and I have work to do.” He waved for Cas to follow him. 

It was still weird to see Cas in jeans and flannel, but damn if Cas didn’t look hot as hell. He still did the head tilt when he was confused, and Dean was happy about that. He really loved those little quirks. Not that he would ever admit it. “What kind of work?” Cas asked as they walked towards the garage.

“First… we need to go shopping.” Dean announced as he held open the door of the Impala for Cas to get in. He could see the confusion on Cas’s face, and a part of him really loved confusing him.

“Shopping for what, Dean?” Cas asked when they hit the road. 

Dean smirked at him. “Apples, flour, some other ingredients. Today, I’m going to teach you how to make apple pie.”

One of Cas’s eyebrows arched before the ex-angel gave him a little smirk. “Are you teaching me so I can bake a pie for you whenever you need one?”

“Absolutely. You saw right through my evil plan of turning you into my baking slave.”  _ Great.  _ Now his mind came up with a ton of dirty stuff that had nothing to do with baking.

He cleared his throat, and gave Cas an innocent looking smile. “I just recalled you mumbling something when we watched that show on Netflix. You know, the one with the cakes that look like crap?”

“Oh, yes.” Cas replied with a surprised look. “I said I wanted to learn how to bake. Dean, that was over a month ago. You still remember that?”

Dean shrugged, trying to play it off. He always remembered everything Cas said. “Of course. So, what do you say? Are you ready to learn how to bake?”

Cas smiled brightly at him. It was one of those super rare smiles that Dean promised himself to tickle out of Cas a lot more in the future. He wanted to make him happy, and show him how much he meant to him. And this… this was just the start.

  
  


**Two**

…………………….

Today was the day. No more skirting around it, no more hints, no more innuendo, no more subtlety. Cas was a damn angel deep down, no matter how human he was now, and subtlety was not the guy’s strong suit.

So today was the day Dean was going to officially ask Cas out on a date. A real date.

As he raked his fingers through his hair, eyes screwed shut from the shower droplets drumming against his face, he couldn’t help but laugh outright at some of his failed attempts…

Inviting Cas grocery shopping to grab pie ingredients for an impromptu lesson alone hadn’t been a clue for the former Seraph. Dean even went so far as to lean in, lips pursed and hopeful when their sleeves were rolled to the elbows, side by side, mixing the dough for the pie crust. Cas ended up flashing Dean a bemused frown before he looked down and carefully stepped away.

Dean might have taken that as an indicator he’d been wrong about his assumptions of reciprocated feelings, if Cas hadn’t blushed and looked away.

Then there was the evening a few weeks back, when he tossed Cas his jacket and invited him to a Drive-In about an hour’s drive away. It was even showing a double feature of a couple of cheesy chick-flicks,  _ The Wedding Singer _ and  _ Ten Things I Hate About You.  _ Even after Dean paid _ and  _ bought them popcorn to share, putting up with the weird sugar thing for the guy, he found himself stuck actually watching the damn movies. And all because Cas got sucked in to the friggin’ plots. Cas had a nice laugh, and at least these damn movies made good on the comedy part. It wasn’t too difficult to just enjoy the moment.

Dean shut off the water and stepped onto the cold tile floor as he grabbed a towel. The plus side of actually paying attention to those damn movies, it had given him an idea of how to clue Cas in. A grand gesture, and according to chick-flicks, that usually occurred in the form of song.

It had been dumb luck when they ended up at a dive bar on karaoke night two days ago. They had just finished eating at a diner in town, and Cas pointed out the neon lights of a place called Julie’s Joint, on a lone stretch of the highway. The kinda place that might’ve been something’s hunting ground.

“Would you like a drink?” Cas asked.

Dean nodded and pulled up onto the dirt lot that surrounded the made over shack. When they got out, Dean found himself gravitating towards Cas, resisting the urge to loop his arm over the guy’s shoulder. Cas tilted his head as he looked up at the hand painted sign above the door.

“What is it with the propensity for humans to name inanimate objects and structures after themselves? Is it part of a need for legacy, a form of narcissism?”

“Damn,” Dean breathed out through a chuckle. “That’s a helluva question considering we’re not even drunk yet.”

Cas held Dean’s gaze, expression expectant. “That doesn’t answer my question, Dean.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, little of column a, little of column b. Unless this was named  _ for _ somebody. A lot of people name their bars or restaurants after the love of their life.”

That was met with a thoughtful hum, and Dean pulled open the door for them.

The crowd was rowdy and happy. Dean’s favorite kind. A young woman was belting out some country song, not too far from the right key, but everyone was cheering her on anyway. It was a good crowd. 

Dean and Cas sat at the bar and put in their orders before Dean saw the KJ booth, and moved to stand.

Cas had watched him, expression rather amused as his eyes followed Dean’s every move. Grabbing a piece of paper, jotting down a song and artist under his name, and slipping the paper into the KJ’s hand just to grease his palm with a fiver.

When Dean sat on the stool again, he grabbed his beer and moved to lean his back against the bar.

“What song are you going to sing?”

Dean smirked and said, “You’ll see,” before he took a swig from the bottle.

It didn’t take long before Dean’s name was called and he got up to take the mic. He knew what the song was going to be probably before they even saw the bar. 

As familiar chords filled the beat up speakers, Dean took a deep breath and locked eyes with Cas.

“Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time… Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you. Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time, and hung me on a line, maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you…”

Dean poured what was left of his soul into that damn song, fueled by the intensity of Cas’s unwavering gaze. While he was no Paul McCartney, he hoped to hell he didn’t butcher it so much Cas didn’t  _ hear _ the words.

When he handed the mic back to a round of applause, Dean approached Cas with a hesitant smile. “So?” he asked as he shrugged expectantly.

Cas flashed him an almost awed expression. “I didn’t realize you got better at singing.”

And all Dean could do was laugh.

_ Talk about a fuck up.  _ Dean had spent the rest of that night singing love song after love song, to no avail. Cas never figured out Dean was singing  _ to  _ him.

That was why there was going to be no more subtlety. 

Dean pulled on his best jeans, and one of the few button ups that didn’t have knife or bullet holes. It was stupid, Cas probably didn’t give a damn what Dean looked like. But after so many failed attempts, Dean wanted the moment to be perfect. The moment he finally took that next step and was upfront with Cas. The moment he actually said the damn words.

When Dean reached the library, it was to find Cas sitting at a table, reading a book. He moved to sit on the edge of the table next to him and said, “Cas, we need to talk.”

Cas visibly startled and closed his book as he looked up at Dean. His eyes were impossibly wide and fearful. “Are… are you breaking up with me?”

If Dean had been drinking something at that moment, he would have choked. “What?” 

“I have read that those words are usually a prelude to what is known as a ‘break-up speech’.” Cas said, air quotes and all.

Dean shook his head, gears grinding to an almost halt as he tried to process everything.

“And after the last time you said those words to me, and knowing you promised you would never kick me out again, the only logical conclusion was perhaps you wished to end our relationship.”

He said it so matter-of-factly. 

Before Cas could continue, Dean shook his head in confusion. “We’re together?”

Cas let out a surprised breath. It was almost a scoff. Dean liked when Cas picked up human habits. “You weren’t aware?”

Dean shook his head, both in answer to Cas’s question and at himself for being so damn stupid. Of fucking course Cas had thought those had all been dates. He really needed to start giving his friend a lot more credit. “No,” Dean said as he leaned forward and twisted Cas’s tie around his fist to draw him close, “I wasn’t.”

And without any goddamn pomp and circumstance, Dean drew Cas in for a kiss. That first gasp of air after a fight with oxygen deprivation. The relieved sigh at finding out good news. Their lips brushed together in a light stroke at the start of an outline. When the give turned into take, Dean’s blood rushed. The kiss deepened for the briefest of moments before Cas gently pushed at Dean’s chest with a gasp.

“So, you’re not breaking up with me?”

The bark of laughter that escaped was completely involuntary. Dean couldn’t help but smile as he gently cupped Cas’s cheek. “Shut up and kiss me.”

Cas quirked his brow before he shrugged and drew Dean close, lips curled up in a smile pressed against his own.

_ Not bad for an official first date. _

**Three**

…………………….

Cas opened the door to his bedroom and immediately noticed a teddy bear wearing a bee costume propped against his pillow. Smiling bashfully, he crossed to the bed and picked up the soft plush toy, hugging it to his chest.

"Dean," he uttered with a small, private smile.

The hunter had started randomly leaving little gifts for him strewn around the bunker.

Cas walked into the kitchen a few weeks ago to get a cup of coffee; when he opened the cabinet, there was a mug with a cartoon bee on it and the words, "Always Bee Yourself". As he'd pulled it out and started preparing a cup of steaming hot coffee, he noticed Dean had written, "Never Change," on the back in permanent marker. He was smiling nostalgically when Dean walked in, holding a mug of his own. He held it out, showing Cas another bee  – this one wearing a cowboy hat with the exclamation, "Beehaw!" under it. It became their morning routine to drink coffee together as Dean prepared breakfast, and it was one of the best parts of his days.

He now had a collection of clothing decorated with bees: t-shirts, pajama pants, a tie tack shaped like a bee, yellow and black striped boxer shorts, and a week's worth of socks from a company that used a bee in their logo. Dean had informed him that for every pair purchased, the company donated a pair of socks to the less fortunate. Cas had squeezed Dean perhaps a bit too tightly, amazed at his thoughtfulness.

As he held the bear to him, he thought about how his relationship with Dean was changing. Being human was still difficult for him; being human with Dean in his life… Well, the thought of growing old with Dean made it easier to adjust.

He decided to thank Dean for this latest gift, and walked down the hall to Dean's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and Cas paused with his hand raised to knock, watching as Dean danced around the room in only his cotton tee and boxers, singing to himself. The headphones he was wearing prevented him from hearing Castiel's approach.

Smiling fondly, he watched Dean do some awkward hip shake thing as he "sang" into a beer bottle, like it was a microphone. When he looked up and saw Cas watching, he jumped a bit then started blushing.

_ Freckles. If he only knew how often I've counted them. _

Pulling the buds from his ears, Dean said, "Cas! How long have you been standing there, you creeper?"

He grinned in response. "Long enough to say that of course you can be my teddy bear."

Dean's cheeks grew redder, and it was all too endearing. Cas entered Dean's room and moved to stand in front of him. Still holding the teddy bear in one arm, he gently pulled Dean to him.

"Does this mean I can cuddle you when I'm feeling not so great?"

Dean's arms circled his waist, and the response of, "Yeah, 'course you can, you goof," was sweetly muttered in his ear.

They stood like that for what felt like a lifetime, and yet it would never be enough. Dean eventually drew back.

"Hey, Cas, you wanna take a ride with me?"

Castiel tilted his head to the side, partially in contemplation, partially because he'd noticed Dean seemed affected in the most adorable way when he did so.

"Did you have a particular destination in mind?" he queried.

Dean grinned at him, then kissed the tip of his nose and said, "It's a secret."

Indulging his hunter, Castiel agreed. Lately Dean's secrets had shown a sweeter side of him, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.

"Go get dressed and meet me in the garage," Dean ordered with a smile.

Mimicking a move he'd seen Dean make many times, Cas made finger guns and, with an over-exaggerated wink, said, "See you there."

Dean's laughter as he walked out of the room was its own brand of gift, and Castiel decided he wanted to be responsible for that beautiful sound as often as possible.

Donning one of Dean's old band tees and a snug pair of jeans, Cas threw on socks and shoes and grabbed the bear at the last minute.

He found Dean leaning against Baby's passenger door. When he saw Cas, he straightened up and dug in his pocket, pulling out the key.

Cas approached, expecting Dean to move aside, round the front of the car so they could leave on this mystery trip.

Instead, Dean held the key out. Castiel's head tilt was all confusion this time.

"It's for you," Dean started, as he jingled the key in front of him. "This is your copy. For when you want to drive her."

His jaw might as well have come unhinged. He couldn't speak. Looking at the key offered to him, he saw a charm dangling from the ring. It was a bee, of course, but on one side, it was engraved, "Bee my Baby."

Breath catching in his chest, he didn't know how to respond. "Dean…"

"Don't get sappy on me," he said, as he pushed the key into Cas's hand. "Get her fired up, and let's go."

Not needing much more in the way of prompting, Castiel moved around the hood of the car, trailing his fingers over Baby's shiny surface. She really was beautiful.

When he was behind the steering wheel and fastened in, Dean looked over at him, teddy bear cradled in his lap.

"Okay, gorgeous. First rule when you're driving my girl is – "

Castiel knew this one from years of traveling with the brothers. "Driver picks the music; you shut your piehole."

Dean's grin shone brighter than the purest grace, even when Castiel turned the dial to the local classical station.

"Okay, Tchaikovsky, let's get this show on the road then."

Castiel put his key in the ignition and turned it, feeling the rumble of Baby's engine roaring to life. "Okay, but where am I going?"

Dean looked over at him, sweet smile in place. "Wherever you take us, sunshine. Just put her in gear and drive."

**Four**

…………………….

No grown up man had the right to look as cute as Cas did right in that moment. His hair was a mess, and there was oil and grease all over his clothes, face, and hands. He was pouting at his truck before he gave Dean a pained look. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, Dean.”

“Well, you could start by putting the oil  _ into _ the car, instead of on your face,” Dean joked as he hooked his finger into the belt loop of Cas’s jeans, pulling him close. He loved the way Cas’s breath hitched every time he initiated something physical. 

“Could you show me again?” Cas murmured, his voice a lot deeper than usual. 

Dean had already shown Cas how to perform an oil change multiple times, but he would never tire of helping him with it. He loved helping Cas, and working with him on the car. It was nice to do it together. 

He pressed a quick kiss to his sinful lips before he asked, “Have you already drained the oil?”

Cas sighed and pointed at the pan and the mess around it. That explained a lot. “You’ve forgotten about the angle it streams out,” Dean stated more than he asked. His angel sighed again, his shoulders drooping a bit. 

“Tell you what… We’ll finish this together, and then I’ll reward you later.” He waggled his eyebrows, and was pretty sure that Cas got it, if his smile was anything to go by. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one rewarding you for helping me?” Cas replied with a soft smirk. 

Dean shook his head before kissing Cas again. “We could reward each other then?”

“I like that,” Cas hummed before gently pushing Dean against the front of his truck, drawing him into a deep kiss. 

Dean loved kissing Cas. It still left him breathless, and as corny as it sounded, it always felt like sparks of pleasure running through his whole body, leaving him wanting for more. He knew he had never felt like this with anybody before, and it just confirmed what his heart already knew for a long time. Cas was it.

Cas softly pressed his palms against Dean's shoulder as he drew back and gave him a playfully stern look. “Work first, then pleasure.”

Dean crawled under the car to see how far Cas had gotten, and the answer was… not far. He had already drained the oil out of the engine, but the drain plug was nowhere in sight. "Baby, where is the plug?"

"I think it fell into the pan when the oil came out," Cas confessed as he slid under the car next to him. 

Yeah, that sounded like something that would happen to Cas. He gave him a quick smile. "At least you successfully drained all the oil. And most of it even landed in the pan. I'm proud of you, Cas. That's a lot better than last time."

The embarrassed look he was receiving would never get old. Cas was still not used to getting compliments. 

Dean pushed himself away from under the car and carefully slid the pan out with him, trying not to make more of a mess on the floor. He grabbed some gloves and carried the oil pan over to the barrel where he carefully poured in the old oil. The drain plug was sticking to the bottom of the pan, like Cas had assumed. 

He took it out and handed it to Cas, who was also wearing gloves now. He should have worn them from the beginning, but he didn’t feel like reprimanding him for it. “Wash it and make it as clean as possible.”

Dean watched as Cas methodically cleaned the nut with a rag, his expression concentrated on the task at hand. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around him, bracing his chin on Cas’s shoulder as he watched him work. Cas was really good at making things shiny again. “Good job, baby,” he murmured and kissed the side of Cas's throat. There was a bit of stubble there, and Dean loved the scratchiness, and the way Cas’s breathing hitched.

Dean took the oil drain plug from Cas’s hand and slid under the car again. “Hand me the three-eighth-inch drive ratchet please?” He loved that Cas gave him the exact right tool from the toolbox a minute later. He was sure one day they could work on cars together without a hitch. Like the perfect team they were. “Thanks,” he groaned as he tightened the nut back into place. The angle was always shitty to work with. 

Cas appeared next to him again, watching him with a pained expression. “The next step is the oil filter, if I remember correctly.”

Dean chuckled before he nodded. He remembered the mess Cas had made all the times before. “Cas, I’ve told you. It’s normal that it’s messy. You really think I would come away clean from this? No one does.”

Without Dean needing to say anything, Cas handed him the extension to the wrench. Damn, he was proud of his angel. He repositioned the empty pan before sliding to a safer distance and he carefully loosened the filter. Once he could feel it breaking free, he quickly grabbed it and slowly unscrewed it. Oil gushed over his hand and ran down his arm, and Cas helped him by using a rug and cleaning him up as he unscrewed the filter further. Once it came off, he held it over the pan and waited until all the oil stopped dripping out. “Alright, you clean this and I’ll get the new oil for the O-ring.”

They worked quietly and efficiently through the next steps, and when it was finally time for the new oil, Dean happily watched Cas as he poured it in. He looked content and happy, maybe even a little proud of himself.

It was really nice to see. 

Dean closed the hood before he pulled Cas close again. “Shower. Now. It’s time I give you the same perfect attention you gave to this oil filter and drain.”

Cas blushed at the compliment. And Dean knew he would see that blush in the shower again soon.

**Five**

…………………….

Cas woke up  – that was still an unnerving feeling, though not as much now that he woke up next to someone  – to the feeling of a heavy thigh thrown over his legs, and a beloved, calloused hand curled around his bicep.

Dean was like an octopus. But he wouldn't have it any other way. Though, it did make it difficult when he awoke with the need to urinate  – another unnerving act he still had not adapted to.

He squirmed in Dean's grasp until he was facing him, then reached up to cup his cheek.

"Dean," he quietly spoke, "I need you to let me up."

His hunter just sniffled his nose into his chest and hummed contentedly. Kissing the top of his porcupine hair, Cas tried again.

"Please, Dean. My bladder is protesting."

There was an adorable delicate snort from the vicinity of his heart, Dean's breath muffled into Cas's skin, but no sign that Dean was waking. Fine, he'd play dirty.

Dropping his voice into a low, gravelly grumble, Cas leaned low enough to softly tease, "Oh, my love, it's a shame you aren't awake. I would very much enjoy tasting every inch of your skin, as I prepare you for the most passionate sex we've ever had."

There was a flutter of lashes against his pectoral, so he continued, "I would spread your body out and worship every last cell, caress you until you were writhing, begging for more."

Dean's breathing became less rhythmic, and Cas could tell he was closer to his goal.

"And I'd give it to you. I'd give you everything, love." Slowly easing Dean to his back, Cas asked, "Do you want it? Do you want to come apart under my hands and mouth?"

He smiled as Dean's gorgeous peridot eyes drifted open and a beatific smile curled his lips. Cas leaned down and kissed that talented mouth.

"Good morning, Dean."

Dean's smile morphed into a grin. "Heya, Cas," he lazily murmured. "Go urinate, you nerd."

Cas laughed and rushed to the bathroom, quickly taking care of his business because one, gross; and two, he was eager to get back to the cuddling.

Crawling back into the bed and curling back into Dean's arms felt better than heaven, and he wished it was always like this.

Lately, though, Dean had been away more frequently, with no explanation. And Castiel would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned. But if he had learned one thing, it was that humans needed open communication.

"Dean," he paused before hesitantly continuing, "if there was something… If you weren't happy being with me, you'd say something, right?"

A hand cupped his chin and tilted it up, nose bumping against his own. "Hey. Where's this coming from? Why would you think that, sunshine?"

Cas sighed, feeling very clingy all of a sudden. "It's just that you've been disappearing a lot. And I know that I can't be with you at all hours, but…"

Dean rolled to his back and pulled Castiel on top of him. "Cas, I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't want you to ever feel like I don't want you, baby." Dean caressed his cheek and pressed a tender kiss to the tip of his nose. "I'm working on something. For us. I can't tell you all the details yet, but I promise – "

He held up his smallest finger. "I pinky swear, Cas, I'll never leave you again."

Cas had learned about the severity of pinky promises from a day spent with Claire. He still wondered what Dean was up to, and was honestly a bit bothered that Dean was withholding something important from him, but he reached up and linked his pinky with Dean's.

With a sincerity that was reserved for those he loved most, Castiel whispered, "I trust you, Dean."

Drawing him down into a chaste kiss, Dean swore, "And I'll do everything in my power to make sure I'm worthy of you."

**Extra (Or, You Know, Six)**

…………………….

Dean had been acting strange over the past few months, disappearing for hours at a time with little to no explanation, Castiel’s only solace came in the form of a “pinky swear”. And he trusted Dean, without question, so he accepted his lover’s assurance. 

Not that Cas wasn’t incredibly curious about what he could possibly be up to, but after some time, it became a forgotten thought. He found that to be one of his least favorite aspects of becoming human, the moments of cognitive disruption. Overall, there were far more pros than there were cons.

Humanity came with some pretty enjoyable perks, ones he didn’t truly appreciate the first time he was a human. Cas found himself far more appreciative of emotions. Granted, the bad and sad emotions were incredibly unpleasant, they seemed far more bearable now that he had the ability to balance them out from the sheer abundance of happy emotions. Perhaps that was why he struggled so often the first time. He had nothing but the bad emotions.

Even after consummating their relationship, Castiel’s heart still stumbled when his lover flashed him a smile. Dean was truly breathtaking in those moments. 

Cas enjoyed the warmth of Dean’s breath against the nape of his neck when he pressed a kiss in passing on the way to his coffee pot every morning. The tingling sensation that coursed through him whenever Dean reached for his hand in public. The swell of affection he felt with every sentence that ended with, “babe,” or, “sunshine,” or any of the countless pet names Dean had chosen to bestow since the shift in their relationship. 

The best was the emotions and sensations that washed over him with every kiss. Dean’s lips worked like he did, assured and demanding, a brazen forwardness that gave way to a surprisingly submissive vulnerability. Every kiss was followed by the aftershocks of an adrenaline rush, an addictive chase that made Cas feel like he could fly again. 

Dean had replaced his wings.

That was why Cas didn’t even question his lover when he appeared holding a black blindfold and a hopeful expression. “I want it to be a surprise,” he said.

Cas stood and took the material from his hands, effortlessly pulling the blindfold around his head. They had started incorporating more adventurous accessories in their sexual couplings, and had both become rather adept at tying blindfolds. 

Dean laughed and said, “You could’ve waited until we got to Baby.” Yet he still grasped Cas at the elbow and guided him up the staircase. 

The drive was peaceful, the only sound besides the roar of the engine, and the rustling of scenery speeding by, was Dean humming the tune of a song he recognized from one of the many black and white films he had been forced to watch. The one with the nazis and flashbacks to Paris. 

When the vehicle came to a stop, Dean said nothing before the sound of the door opening and closing followed. Cas sat there, debating whether or not to open his own door when the decision was made for him. 

“Come on, Cas.” His hand was captured by Dean’s as he was guided from the car. Dean walked Cas forward a few steps before the blindfold fell from his eyes and he blinked away the sun.

As his vision came into focus, Cas furrowed his brow in bemusement until his eyes rested on a simple wooden sign above the door of a simple, remote building. It read, “Cas’s Place.”

One year, three months, and twelve days ago Dean had said to Cas, “A lot of people name their bars or restaurants after the love of their life.” 

Cas turned to Dean, unable to hide the knowing smile as he cupped his lover’s cheek. “Is this what you’ve been disappearing for?”

Dean ducked his gaze as he took a step closer. “Do you like it?”

Like would be the understatement of the millennium. Cas lazily draped his arms over Dean’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I like it very much.”

That was met with a relieved laugh. “I like  _ you  _ very much,” he murmured.

“I  _ love _ you very much,” he returned in kind. The words were never spoken with expectation of reciprocity, because Dean never had to say them for Cas to know how his lover felt. 

And yet…

“I love you too, Cas,” Dean murmured before he dove in for another kiss. 

There was the adrenaline rush. When Cas drew back, in an attempt to catch his breath, head swimming with the ardent realization that Dean had finally said those words, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Falling for Dean Winchester had truly been the best thing that ever happened to him. 

As Cas turned to look up at the sign again, further proof of the love they shared, he said the first thing that popped into his head, “I’m surprised you didn’t name it, ‘Cas-A-Blanca.’”

There was a beat of silence as the dawning of realization crossed Dean’s features. His jaw dropped and he cried out, “Son of a bitch!”

_ The End. _

_ (But not of Dean’s bad puns) _

**Author's Note:**

> Frankie here: I’m diabetic, I really shouldn’t have exposed myself to this much fluff.


End file.
